Looks great! I’ve not ridden one, but when I was with basquemtb in July, Doug was very positive about his- both from your description and his it seems a lot like my Devinci Atlas- fast all round, agile in the tight stuff. I love the way a sorted 29er picks speed up when you pump through corners!

I have two Kilner jars of blackberry gin and brandy I’ve been prompted to remember- steeped since last winter… Will decant and report back!

PLEEEEAAASE Open for half term week… This could be the perfect answer to my other post about uplift days…!

Thanks all- and that’s not a hijack, my thinking was to do the FOD Blue and then progess, so an idea which trail is the least techy of the reds would help- I’ve done some DH runs at the Fod before, but only via pushup, so we just sessioned Sheepskull and another one on that side.

I’m up for BPW without a booking, having done it before, but that was with a mate who’s not adverse to climbing. The OH can climb, but i’d rather we had a proper day of uplift… how easy is it to get on the uplifts (unbooked) earlier in the day at BPW? I did it before, but only later on.

Thought I’d add my 2p’s worth- I’m more in the mould of a rider like ScottF (but far more average all round), and I’m very much an occasional XC racer. I’ve mainly done gorricks, and have preferred the autumn ones when the weather is a bit better, which I think helps a lot to encourage the casual racer. I guess though that shorter races in the winter are a way of getting some racing continuity throughout the year, with longer summer events?

I’m also very into the idea of a/b/c lines, but make sure they are increasingly slower lines! I tend to be a better descender/technical rider and there should be a pay-off for those abilities as part of the ‘ideal’ all-round skills that distinguish a mountain bike rider from the ‘ideal’ skills of a Road/CX riders.

Another idea- the idea of a marathon stage could be a possibility, especially in the lighter months. Having really enjoyed the recent Epic Cymru, could the format of a long route with XC ‘stages’ during the whole ride be a possibility? Involving both overall time and stage times?

I hope you are successful in this, as I’ve always enjoyed/learned a lot from racing. I think XC racing offers a lot, but (IMO) a current issue is the way a lot of contemporary riders perceive competition; across cycle sport in general, the most popular forms, Road Sportives, ‘distance’ enduros and ‘gravity’ enduros, the results are based on (chipped) timing, rather than first over the line, and this is supported by the popularity of Strava, etc. There might be something in either re-emphasising the unique nature of racing for first over the line, or considering both forms of measuring competition in different categories? (A bit like how Gorrick has both ‘age’ and ‘skill’ categories?)

I think tomh covers most points, which is good, as I’m generally adverse to forum debate, especially as it never changes anyone’s ideas…

However- I loved it, obviously with an appreciation of the difficulties of gaining permission to race on an epic scale, so;

-Uphill elements in descent stages? Even UKGE stages have some short uphill sections- it’s Enduro, not DH.

also, there was no compulsion to charge off each day, especially if you were mainly doing it with an eye for the trail king sections. after the first full day, I and the spontaneously formed gang of tail-end-bimblers found that we could go out for a great day’s trail riding and then hit all the timed stages with loads of space. this is what the trail king contenders did and it was enjoyably social!

No-one considers the Dyfi/CYB/FOD/Gorrick enduros to be ‘ENDUROOOO’, so any examination of the ascent/distance each day would have given a fair idea. I was on a reasonably light, slack short-ish, nimble 29er, and I reckon that was the tool for the job, up and down.

I did think it was more oriented to the XC; I would have liked to see more trail king sections, and there were some good rooty/steep/loose chutes which could have been part of timed trail sections, and this was a real test/block for some of the more XC riders- if they had been part of stages, but with a (longish) B-line diversion for less technical riders, that could have been a good test as part of an event which has the potential to be a test of all elements of riding…?

Great blog, and I now have a whole load of images to trawl through to look for more moments of my averageness…!

I’m suffering a bit of a post-Epic comedown at the moment, so it’s good to look back. I’m already planning next year, not least in terms of fitness!

It’s been fantastic- I’ve loved the variety of trails, whenever they have been timed XC/trail stages, or just some of the transitions! Natural riding, fresh cut sections, bike park runs and tight singletrack. I even ‘enjoyed’ the 12k climb up the Blade descent…!

Scott- as Ben said, it’s easy to hang back and focus on the trail king sections; after the first day we took a steady pace on the neutral stuff and rode the timed sections with no hold-ups. We took the appearance of the Bird contingent at the end of a run as a signal to get moving!

It was properly wet today though, so keeping the pace up was a better idea- pretty cold otherwise.

However, the whole event has been fantastic, real total riding challenge! Epic/Enduro in all senses! (A few more pure descent stages would have been good though!)

Getting excited too- I think I’m going with the more XC bike, it was fine for the Dyfi, and I’d appreciate the lighter weight and gearing! If anyone is taking multiple vehicles, it’d be good to know, and I reckon petrol money could be saved!? I’d like to have access to my car in the later stages, just to go and source extra food…!

Ah- I can answer my own question having looked at the website! Registration from 10 for a 3pm rider briefing, 4pm ride. All sounds quite civilised…

@charliemort- the Pyga seems a pretty similar package, which is the bike I’m leaning towards. Are you running it with the standard 120mm Sid fork?

The distances for each day seem to be about 50kms- of course pretty much singletrack, but it should be fairly manageable, if it’s anything like how the event info describes it.

Does anyone have a clue about starting times on the Saturday? I’d vastly prefer to come down that morning so I’m hoping for a late-ish kick off…

I’m in… Probably have the family with me over the weekend but solo thereafter. I’m hoping my general bike fitness will see me through as I’ve not done any specific training, other than riding more in the summer.

My big debate is the bike- I have a Yeti SB66 alu, which is 1×10 and will descend brilliantly, but will be a pig on the climbs. Alternately I have a Devinci Atlas CR… This will definitely be a far better climber/mile muncher, but with a 120mm SID fork, it may be a bit of a compromise descending…?

I have a 2013 Atlas Carbon, so this is a comment on Devinci bikes in general. Having said that, they share the same split pivot design and both have the Carbon front/alu stays. They aren’t the lightest of Carbon frames, but the construction is solid. In 18 months of riding I’ve had to replace the two bearings at the top of the seat stays, and nothing else. All of the cable routing is external, which some may not like.

I particularly like the robustness of the mech hanger integrated into the 142×12 axle fitting. All over the frame there are well sized hex bolt fittings and big spannerable pivots. So far it seems to warrant the lifetime warranty!

The Atlas is a brilliantly capable trail bike, very quick handling for a 110mm travel 29er and stable in the air/ on rough stuff. If these characteristics translate into the larger bike, I imagine the Spartan is Awesome.

Which pub were you in? If it’s one of the popular ones in the centre, there won’t be anyone from Oxford in them at this time of year, they’re full of summer school wannabes and American girls desperate to bag a Hugh Grant/Colin Firth-a-like…

I’ve not found a way to show more than the top ten, but what i have found is that if i change the ‘climb category’ to flat/downhill only, then zoom in and find something likely to be good, (wiggly, silly/fun name)that’s a start.

I tried out the Strava free month offer a while ago and forgot about it, so I’ve unwittingly paid for a year. It has a great advantage, which is that I can click on a segment, find individual rider’s loops and download them as GPX. If you pull in 2-3 different rides and import them to an OS mapping application like memory map, you can soon piece together a good ride.

edit- like wot Jam bo said. Some might think it’s a bit of a stalker tactic, but i wouldn’t bother if someone did the same to my rides.

Cheekyboy- the top section of Grim’s is footpath, festooned with no cycling signs and is designated as an ancient monument, so should be avoided- (and it’s full of stiles) the bottom section is a ribbon of glorious 12″ wide XC singletrack.
Send me an email and I have GPX. Alternately, we’ll be out tomorrow.

I live to the Southern end of the Chilterns, and yes, it is definitely best ridden on an XC-ish bike; There is plenty of twisty singletrack,especially the Stoke Row/Checkendon/Woodcote end, both bridleway and more ‘creative’ options, but it doesn’t tend to be very technical, apart from wet roots.

North of Henley is very good too- hills are a bit steeper and some great long Bridleway descents.

Cheekyboy- (Or others interested) We have a regular Wednesday night group, loosely affiliated with AW cycles in Reading, as well as some regular riding other nights and weekends. email in profile if anyone is
interested in joining.

Good review this- I was looking for something similar last year, ended up buying a Devinci Atlas Carbon, which gave me a very similar experience as a first full-sus 29er, as a ride which is very capable downhill and in the tight stuff, but really light and efficient for longer rides.

The Devinci has a similar BB height and short rear stays. It has 110mm of rear travel, which has also felt enough in rough terrain. The head angle of the Smuggler is considerably slacker though. I’m running 120mm SIDs on mine, as it is my ‘XC’ bike, but I could build it with 130-140mm Pikes if i wanted burlier.

As I have a Yeti SB66 as well, I prefer the Devinci as a lighter trail bike, but if I was to have only one bike, the Smuggler would be ideal. Cable routing is much better too, as is the threaded BB…!

Edit- and I’ve also had the same comments- people thinking it was 650b until I told them!

I’ve used the anchovies a lot, they are great. Also, ive rescued some big slashes in sidewalls from flints- Stitch the hole up with fishing line or dental floss, then superglue a big patch of sidewall over the hole and stitch that on too. i’ll post a photo of one ive done when i get home.

This can rescue a tyre with a 1-11/2″ slash in the sidewall, and no deformation of the carcass, even blown up to 40psi!

60km on the fine trails around the Hambledon valley/Henley way under cloudless skies last night, followed by a couple of pints of Cocker Hoop in The Unicorn and a wobble home. A fine night for local riding!

All sounds good! I have a pair of yet-to-be-used Hans Dampf Super Gravities to stick on I reckon…

Its all sounding good! Suddenly finding myself with a free weekend, I did have a bit of a debate about this one, or doing the ‘Welsh Gravity Enduro’ race at Afan. However, I was put off a bit by the idea that the latter would be raced on ‘trail centre’ tracks only. (I’ve been to Afan enough times…)

Especially following on from the racing at QECP last weekend, ‘Steep loamy madness’ seems much more like my thing…. :-)

Bump for the morning. Weather’s looking better for the weekend, should be good! Just wondering if anyone knows a good, dog friendly bunk house in the area?

Sounds about right! Haven’t ridden round there for years so I’m pretty into the idea.

chiefgrooveguru- I did the same pushing up move on the switchbacks, which was probably the hardest work of the evening! I would have been down on the middle part of stage two, (after the first fireroad) trying to work out a way of slithering round a tree when Mr Craig came past me… Not hanging around!

Just another shout of thanks to Scott, volunteers and the QECP collective in general! Loved the developments of the course from last year and the growth in numbers. I reckon the ‘field’ in general was much more competitive too- I was nearly 2 minutes faster than last year in the dry, but further down the overall. (A morning mis-spent on Roots and Rain looking at stats…)

Pretty happy with my 15th in Vets, especially as I took a wide line into the steep section on stage 2 and ended up with a little branch stuck in my rear wheel/mech/chain- a slightly random way to lose time…

Bit of a reality check when Nick Craig, on the fatty, came steaming past on stage 2 practice as well!

Edit: +1 for an autumn race! -i’m always on holiday for the summer one, there must be other spots locally to do a ‘falling leaves’ enduro!?

After my wet Dyfi trip, I haven’t managed to persuade the OH to camp, so I’ll be without family.

Racing at about 8.30 on my very yellow SB66.

Don’t know where you’re based but there are BMX tracks at Wargrave and Lower Earley in Reading if that’s local? Great for pump practice too!

First attempt here, I actually enjoyed the climbs, quite good once I got into a rhythm. I’d be interested to know who cleared a couple of those singletrack climbs- especially the one which seemed to have suffered in the rain!

If that was the wettest, I’d like to have a go in drier conditions. Beer was excellent too…

First time for me too, glad the weather is looking up. The only problem is I can’t find my hip flask…

Devinci Atlas 29er with white American Classic wheels, whatever top comes out of the bag first…

It’s probably Blackthorn. It usually blossoms before it buds and this is in the last weeks of March/Early April, known as the ‘blackthorn winter’. There’s often a cold snap at this time of year, and the blossom looks a bit like frost/snow.

I’m entered in masters for the D/N, so yes, I’ll be there!

The paint is meant to be in ‘retro’ Yeti colours- hence the black outline on the decal- but in the layout of the SB66 colour scheme. I’m pretty pleased!!

Thumbs up to that! Shiny new bikes make me a bit reluctant about getting them dirty, so shiny-new-bike-with-custom-paint is even worse… I need to go throw it down a hill before I’m tempted to frame it…

Bike24..de have got 26″/160mm/solo air/ RCT3’s in stock for about £420.

Although it’s usually an easy site to navigate, having loads of search options, these don’t show up in the listings!? However if you search ‘pike’ from the home page, you’ll find them…

Just ordered some and a Monarch Plus debonair for out back, so I’ll report when they arrive!

The debate about the lot of your children, especially as they become teenagers and beyond is one I can identify with. I grew up on a farm in rural Leicestershire, and I had little freedom without lifts- I could ride out on my bike in the day light, but I wouldn’t have been riding to/from anything after dark, and it was 4 miles to anywhere worth going.

I now live in a village in Oxfordshire, with (currently very muddy) chilterns trails about 100 yards behind the house, views of the river/cows/deer etc out the front window. I’m also about 300 metres the other way from the train station which will get me into Oxford in 40mins or London in 50.

I’ve lived in plenty of cities, but I am much more comfortable with rural living. I probably have a better social life now, partly through my kids being in the village primary school. I’m also pretty confident my kids will have more freedom to go places as they get older, so it doesn’t have to be one or the other. This may be very dependent on the part of the country you’re in though…

Edit- weeksy, having stalked your profile just now, I suspect the ‘place of dreams’ you live in might be the next stop up the line from mine…? :wink:

Ride. Probably all of those early 90’s shoegazing indie bands.

I saw Ride at Derby Assembly Rooms, probably ’91? They were suitably upstaged by a support act called ‘Verve’, who shortly after had to change their name to ‘The Verve’ to avoid copyright issues with Verve records…

Rupert Postlethwaite. Though maybe he’s morphed into the typical mountainbiker on that YouGov page.

+1 for Pussywillow. I’m yet to be convinced he wasn’t the ‘difficult second album’ by whoever created the Postlethwaite persona…

My bike is best too, as it is goodandlongandlowandslack.

Kimbers- i’ll take your enduro (some would say AM) kneepads and raise you with openface helmet and goggles. #enduro

It looks like ‘these are the bikes we got hold of’ test, and credit for being able to test so many. In an ideal world it might have been better to do two tiers based on price point/ off the peg vs custom.

And the custom list could then be full of drool worthly Nicolai/Liteville/Devinci/Knolly offerings… and the winningest SB6…

The only thing is that we’d then be complaining that they were all running different spec builds… And if the reviewers did build them like for like, we’d all just go ‘Meh, but i ride (insert brand) and they are the best…’ :D